Bentley apparently IS at the Novacare Center this morning

[hunt]

Good luck to him in Cleveland.  He'll certainly need it playing for that laughingstock of a franchise.

6-10 = laughingstock

[ice grillin you]

i wish i could be rome and always have everything be so rosie in eagleland

[SunMo]

i just decided i want bently to pull a wendell davis this year

i went with Dennis Byrd, too much?

[ice grillin you]

len bias?

[NorCalBirdz]

Has Eckel said anything on the record since the disaster?

[Beermonkey]

Philly.com: More background on the non-signing

It was no secret that the Eagles wanted to sign unrestricted free agent LeCharles Bentley, and they thought they had an outstanding opportunity to do so. But when free agency finally opened at 12:01 a.m. yesterday, the Browns used their hometown advantage to sign the Pro Bowl center to a six-year deal worth a reported $36 million, including a $12.5 million signing bonus.

"He only had one team on his mind - the Cleveland Browns," said Jonathan Feinsod, one of the agents representing Bentley. "He's from Cleveland, he went to Ohio State, and that's where he wanted to play. I heard the rumors about the Eagles, but I don't know where they came from."

Through a team spokesman, the Eagles denied that they ever had a deal in place with Bentley, as was reported by the Trenton Times yesterday. Feinsod also said that wasn't the case.

That spin is fine, but a close friend of Bentley's was telling people just before free agency originally was scheduled to open March 3 that the center was ready to sign a deal with the Eagles. There was also a strong feeling at One NovaCare Way that Bentley wanted to join the Eagles.

Why the change?

Most likely it was Bentley's ties to Cleveland. He was born and raised there, went to St. Ignatius High School, a football power in the city, and his family, including two children, remains there.

The Eagles, according to a league source, feared that Bentley might be leaning toward signing with the Browns earlier in the week when word leaked that Cleveland was trying to trade center Jeff Faine, a three-year starter and former first-round draft pick who is just 24 years old.

By sunrise, the Eagles knew Bentley was headed to Cleveland and they would have to look elsewhere to improve their offensive line.

The news about Bentley probably wasn't quite as jarring to the Eagles as watching Dallas safety Roy Williams return that Donovan McNabb interception for a touchdown in the Monday Night Football game that ended the Eagles' playoff hopes and the quarterback's season. But it was an awful way to open the free-agent season that they hope they can use to recover from a 6-10 record that was matched by the lowly Browns.

[Rome]

Whining over the Eagles not signing a guy who never had any intention of signing with them is very productive.

[Rome]

Good luck to him in Cleveland.  He'll certainly need it playing for that laughingstock of a franchise.

6-10 = laughingstock

How about the five years previous to that, hunt?  Or don't we count those years now?

Cleveland was a laughingstock BEFORE they lost their franchise to Baltimore.  What have they done since regaining it?

[dis12]

"gold standard" = "mission accomplished"

more like "tarnished bronze" standard

[hunt]

Good luck to him in Cleveland.  He'll certainly need it playing for that laughingstock of a franchise.

6-10 = laughingstock

How about the five years previous to that, hunt?  Or don't we count those years now?

nah...we don't count those.  the only thing that matters is the present.
anyway, why bash the browns for actually trying to improve?  they had cap room so they spent it.

[Rome]

I wasn't bashing them for trying to improve.  I bashed them because they suck, have sucked and will continue to suck.

[qwert246]

Whining over the Eagles not signing a guy who never had any intention of signing with them is very productive.

Nice spin. 
It was all an elaborate scheme to drive up the price for Cleveland. 
If the Eagles wanted him they could have had him.
They would have had to pay more than 12.5 mil guarantee and 6 mil per.  Would it have been worth it to pay more?  Maybe.  He could have been a mainstay on the line for years.
But the Eagles did not get into a bidding war.
Don't delude yourself into thinking that if the Eagles had ponied up lots of cash that Bentley would still be going to Cleveland.  He would be an Eagle right now, and he would have said all the right things in an Eagles PC.
You want to bitch about price?  Go right ahead, but to think the Eagles had no shot because he really really wanted to go to Cleveland?  Jesus. 

[NorCalBirdz]

Cleveland was a laughingstock BEFORE they lost their franchise to Baltimore.  What have they done since regaining it?

They choked away a 20 point lead in a playoff game at Pittsburgh.  That's pretty much the only thing of note 

[PhillyPhreak54]

Go spooge all over your new Lloyd jersey, qwert.

[Rome]

Whining over the Eagles not signing a guy who never had any intention of signing with them is very productive.

Nice spin. 
It was all an elaborate scheme to drive up the price for Cleveland. 
If the Eagles wanted him they could have had him.
They would have had to pay more than 12.5 mil guarantee and 6 mil per.  Would it have been worth it to pay more?  Maybe.  He could have been a mainstay on the line for years.
But the Eagles did not get into a bidding war.
Don't delude yourself into thinking that if the Eagles had ponied up lots of cash that Bentley would still be going to Cleveland.  He would be an Eagle right now, and he would have said all the right things in an Eagles PC.
You want to bitch about price?  Go right ahead, but to think the Eagles had no shot because he really really wanted to go to Cleveland?  Jesus. 

Yeah, he's lying to everyone.  He actually wanted to go to Philly and not his hometown.  If only the Eagles had offered him stupid money like the taterskins, he'd be an Eagle today.



Idiot.